Fintech Takes x SOLO Presents Source of Truth. Ep 1: Is Truth Enough to Unlock Trust?

Aug 28, 2025

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Hello, and welcome to Source of Truth, a new podcast miniseries from Fintech Takes, sponsored by our friends at SOLO.

This series is about information asymmetry (which is *the* enemy in financial services — especially in lending).

Information asymmetry (the gap between what the customer knows and what the financial service provider knows) explains most inefficiencies.

It’s the reason why qualified applicants get declined for loans or approved for loans at rates much higher than they should have to pay. And it’s the reason why borrowers and human underwriters spend a mind-numbing number of hours locating, aggregating, and verifying information.

We’ve added APIs, alternative data, and automation. Yet, the core process of collecting and trusting information still looks much like it did decades ago.

Why is that? And what can be done to reshape that process in a more fundamental way? These are the questions that Source of Truth will explore.

In Episode 1, I’m joined by Georgina Merhom, Founder & CEO of SOLO.

Georgina, a data scientist by training, unpacks how lending data is collected, verified, and (too rarely) reused. Highlights include:

What the old-school branch lending process got right that digital still misses
Why banks still burn through $30B each year on manual collection despite APIs
The difference between standardized inputs (useful) and standardized outputs (misleading)

This opening episode tees up the larger theme of the series: building systems that don’t just capture truth but create trust.

Because when information can be reused and verified, lenders and borrowers stop starting from zero.

Subscribe now and catch the rest of Source of Truth.

This miniseries is brought to you by SOLO.

SOLO resolves and connects customer data across silos — so teams stop rekeying the same customer info for the hundredth time and finally move forward.

Break the cycle at SOLO.one - That’s SOLO dot o-n-e.

Sign up for Alex’s Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/

And for more exclusive insider content, don’t forget to check out my YouTube page.